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KEVIN SPACEY IS “RICHARD III” – At the Curran, October 19th—29th

SHN is delighted to announce the arrival of RICHARD III by William Shakespeare, featuring Kevin Spacey and directed by Sam Mendes, coming to San Francisco this Fall. The Curran Theatre is the only U.S venue, other than BAM in New York, to host this landmark event. Tickets for RICHARD III go on public sale Friday, August 19th.Click here for more information:RICHARD III

Known for carefully curated Bay Area-only theater experiences, SHN is expecting the show to be a highlight of the 2011 season. “This is a really big deal for us, and for San Francisco,” says Carole Shorenstein Hays. “People will recognize the combination of Spacey and Mendes from American Beauty; now they’re interpreting one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays for a modern audience. It should be an amazing experience.”

KEVIN SPACEY, as Richard III places San Francisco on a roster of 11 locations around the world that have been chosen to host the production, including: London, Epidaurus, Hong Kong, Aviles, Spain, Istanbul, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney and New York. The Bridge Project’s production is currently playing to sold out crowds at London’s Old Vic Theatre.

The Bridge Project is a unique three-year series of co-productions by BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street, devoted to producing large-scale, classical theater for international audiences. Bank of America is the proud presenting sponsor of The Bridge Project. The final season of The Bridge Project featuring Kevin Spacey, Artistic Director of The Old Vic, in the title role of Richard III, opened at The Old Vic in London on June 29, 2011. The Bridge Project is directed by Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes with whom Kevin Spacey worked on the film American Beauty, for which they both won BAFTA and Academy Awards.

Kevin Spacey has previously appeared in The Old Vic productions Speed-the-Plow with Jeff Goldblum, National Anthems, The Philadelphia Story, A Moon for the Misbegotten (which subsequently transferred to Broadway), and in Trevor Nunn’s productions of Inherit the Wind and Richard II. Previous theater includes The Iceman Cometh (Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor, and Tony Award nomination) directed by Howard Davies (Almeida, The Old Vic, and Broadway), Lost in Yonkers (Tony Award, Best Supporting Actor), Long Day’s Journey into Night, with Jack Lemmon, directed by Jonathan Miller (Broadway and West End). He directed The Old Vic’s inaugural production Cloaca and directed Complicit starring Richard Dreyfuss.

Award-winning actress Maureen Anderman (the Duchess of York) has worked extensively on Broadway in productions of Othello, Moonchildren (for which she won the Theater World Award), The Lady from Dubuque (Tony Award nomination), Social Security, and Driving Miss Daisy. Haydn Gwynne (as Queen Elizabeth) was last on stage in the West End as Mrs. Wilkinson in Billy Elliot The Musical, a role she recreated on Broadway, winning the Drama Desk, Outer Critics’Circle, and Theater World Awards, and garnering a Tony Award nomination. Her other theater credits include Merry Wives of Windsor, Peer Gynt, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (all RSC); The Memory of Water (Hampstead); and most recently Becky Shaw (Almeida). Her television work includes Drop the Dead Donkey, Sherlock, and Rome.

Click on the photo to view the reactions from Opening Night at the Old Vic:KEVIN SPACEY

Chuk Iwuji (as the Duke of Buckingham) won an Olivier Award in 2009 for his performance in The Histories (RSC) and recently appeared in The Misanthrope (West End) and Welcome to Thebes (National Theatre). The numerous stage credits of Gemma Jones (as Queen Margaret) include Anthony Page’s production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Family Reunion (Donmar), The Masterbuilder, and Michael Blakemore’s Ride Down Mount Morgan, both in the West End. She has appeared in Whistle and I’ll Come to You with John Hurt and Spooks, both BBC, and can be seen in three of the hugely successful Harry Potter films and the forthcoming film Hysteria, alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy. Chandler Williams (as George, Duke of Clarence) has appeared on Broadway in Translations, Mary Stuart, and In The Next Room. He has appeared in the popular CBS television series The Good Wife and his film credits include Kinsey and Public Enemies.

In addition to the production at SHN’s Curran Theatre in San Francisco, RICHARD III will play international engagements at the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Spain’s Centro Niemeyer, Istanbul Theatre Festival (IKSV) & Istanbul Municipal Theatres, The National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Star City Lyric Theatre, Sydney and BAM’s Harvey Theater in New York.

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